Leasuring-can



No. 623,499. Patented Apr. l8, I899.

G. W. CHANDLER.

MEASURING CAN.

(Application filed Aug. 18, 1898.) (No Model.)

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Units Sra'rns ATENI GEORGE \V. CHANDLER, OF MANHATTAN, KANSAS, ASSIGNOROF ONE-HALF TO IVILLIAM O. SNONV, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MEASURING-CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,499, dated April18, 1899.

Application filed August 19,1898. Serial No- 688,990. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon W. CHANDLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Manhattan, in the county of Riley and State of Kansas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Measuring-Cans, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to measuring vessels, and contemplates theprovision of a can equipped with means wherebya certain predeterminedquantity of its contents may be quickly and easily discharged wheneverdesired without the necessity of removing its top, the said meansbeingvery simple and adding but little to the cost of the can and beingadapted to be entirely contained in the can at the time of packing, soas not to offer any obstruction which would increase the space taken upby the can in a box or packing-case.

IVith the foregoing in view the invention will be fully understood fromthe following description and claims when taken in conj unction with theannexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diametrical section of a canembodying my improvements, all partsof which are shown in their properoperative positions. Fig. 2 is a similarview showing the positions whichthe parts of the improvements are caused to assume at the time the canis packed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section taken in the planeindicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

In the said drawings similar letters designate corresponding parts inall of the several views, referring to which A is the body of a can,which is similar to those usually employed for containing bakingpowder,except that it is provided with an opening a in its bottom and anupwardly-directed cylinder or cylindrical wall 1), surrounding the same.B is the can-coveigwhich is also of the ordinary construction, with theexception that ,it has an aperture 0 coincident with but smaller thanthe opening a.

O is a guide fixedly connected to the side wall of the can-body anddisposed above the opening a in the bottom thereof, and D is a rodmovable in the guide 0 and through the opening a in the can-top. Saidrod is threaded at its lower and upper ends and at an intermediate pointof its length, as indicated by (Z, c, and f, respectively, and isequipped with two pistons E F of a diameter to snugly fit the cylinder.The pistons may be of any construction suitable to the purposes of myinvention; but I prefer to have them respectively comprise two metallicdisks g, a packing or gasket h, of cork or other suitable material,interposed between and extending slightly beyond the perimeters of thedisks, and nuts 2 arranged above and below the said disks, the nuts ofthe piston E engaging the threads (I of the rod and the nuts of thepiston F engaging the threads f, and both sets of nuts having for theirpurpose to clamp the disks against the packing or gaskets h to securelyhold the same on the rod. The pistons are arranged on the rod D at asuitable distance apart, according to the quantity of powder or othersubstance contained in the can which it is desired to discharge at eachdepression or downward movement of the rod, such quantity beingincreased by moving the pistons apart and diminished by moving thepistons toward each other. Thus it will be seen that with the can filledv with baking-powder or other substance and the parts in the positionshown in Fig. '1 the space between the pistons E F will be occupied by acertain quantity of powder, which when the rod D is depressed will becarried down into the cylinder 1) and separated from the remainder ofthe powder in the can by the upper piston F acting as a cut-off. Whenthe rod D is depressed sufficiently to carry the lower piston E out ofthe cylinder Z), the quantity of power between the two pistons ispermitted to freely escape into a receptacle placed to receive it. Onthe return or upward movement of the rod D as soon as the upper piston Fpasses out of the cylinderb the space between the two pistons will beoccupied by powder, the lower piston serving to prevent the escape ofany powder until the piston-rod is depressed after the manner beforedescribed. The upward movement of the piston-rod and its appurtenancesislimited by the guide O, which, engaging the upper piston F, prevents thelower piston from moving up out of the cylinder 1), and therebyprecludes the casual escape of the powder from the can. I prefer toarrange the pistons such a distance apart that an amount of powdercorresponding to a table-spoonful will occupy the space between them andbe discharged from the can at each depression of the piston-rod. It isobvious, however, that being mounted in the manner described on the rodthe pistons may be fixed at different distances apart, according to theamount which it is desired to discharge at each downward movement of thepiston-rod.

G designates what I will for convenience of description term thefinger-piece of my improvements. Thisfinger-piece G is preferably ofwood and has a bore j extending throughout its length, so as to enableit to receive the rod D. It also has a shoulder 7t and a transversepassage Z intersecting the bore 7', said passage being designed toreceive a metallic nut m, which in turn receives the rod D and engagesthe threads 6 thereof. At the time of packing the can the finger-piece Gis reversed on the rod Dthat is to say, is inverted after the mannershown in Fig. 2- so that its lower end bears on the guide 0 and itsupper end rests in the opening 0 of the top=and flush with said top. Inthis position the finger-piece engaging the guide C eifectually preventscasual downward movement of the several parts. Casual upward movement ofthe parts is prevented by a strip at of paper or other suitable materialconnected to the top B by adhesive or othersuitable means and restingover the opening 0 therein. This strip serves to prevent casual upwardmovement of the piece G and the parts connected therewith, seals theopening 0, and is susceptible of use as a label when desirable.

In the position shown in Fig. 2 all of the parts of my improvements arecontained entirely in the can and do not therefore increase the spacetaken up by the can in a box or packing-case, which is ahigl'ily-important advantage.

hen it is desired to use the contents of the can, the top B is removedfrom the body A, and the strip at is disconnected from said top, or anopening is formed in said strip sufficient for the passage of thefinger-piece G. Said fin ger-piece is then removed from the rod D andafter being passed through the opening 0 in the cover is replaced 011the rod in the position shown in Fig. 1, when the can and dischargingmechanism are ready to be used in the mannerset forth. \Vhen theimprovements are so used, the shoulder of the finger-piece is designedto engage the top B, and thereby limit the downward movement of the rodD and prevent the upper piston thereon from being moved below thecylinder 1).

My improvements are applicable to receptacles of various 'kinds and areadapted to measure different kinds of substances, as coffee, sugar,spices, &c. I therefore desire it understood that the term can as hereinemployed is intended to comprehend receptacles and vessels. I alsodesire it understood that,

while I prefer to employa finger-piece of wood because of its lightnessand cheapness, I may,

if desired, use a metallic piece having interio'r threads, in whichevent the nut will of course be dispensed with.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is I 1. The combinationof a can-body having a discharge-passage at its lower end, a removablecover on the body having an opening coincident with thedischarge-passage, a reciprocatory rod arranged in the can, pistons onsaid rod conforming in size to the dischargepassage of the can, and afingeriece resting in the opening in the cover and having a borereceiving the rod and means detachably con necting it to said rodwhereby, when not in use, it may be reversed on the rod and be containedentirely in the can, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of a can-body having an opening in its bottom and awall surrounding the same, a removable cover on the body having anopening, a reciprocatory rod arranged in the can, pistons on said rod, afin ger-piece resting in the opening in the cover and receiving anddetachably connected to the rod whereby when not in use it may bereversed on the rod and be contained entirely in the can, and aremovable strip connected to the cover over the opening therein,substantially as specified.

3. The combination of a can-body having an opening in its bottom and awall surrounding said opening and also having an interior guide, aremovable cover arranged on said body and having an opening, areciprocatory rod extending through the guide and having threads e,pistons arranged at a distance apart on said rod and disposed below theguide, and the finger-piece resting in the opening in the cover andhaving the bore receiving the rod and the interior threads engaging thethreads 6 thereof and also having the shoulder arranged to form a stop,said fingeriece being adapted to be reversed on the rod and containedentirely in the can, substantially as specified.

4c. The combination of a can-body having an opening in its bottom and awall surrounding said opening and also having an interior guide, aremovable cover arranged on said body and having an opening, areciprocatory rod extending through the guide and having threads e,pistons arranged at a distance apart on said rod and disposed below theguide, the reversible finger-piece having the bore receiving the rod andalso having the passage intersecting the bore, and the exterior shoulder75, and the nut arranged in the passage of the finger-piece and engagingthe threads 2 of the rod, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

GEORGE W. CHANDLER.

Witnesses:

C. II. RAEDER, THOMAS E. TURPIN.

